Tales Of My Life
by Highland-Spring
Summary: Merry and Pippin meet, grow up and learn what life is really about.


So this is my first attempt of many stories. I've worked on quite a few but I feel that perhaps this one is the most fitting for my first entry here on Fanfiction.net. I hope you enjoy it and any reviews are most welcome. ~Highland-Spring.  
  
Tales of my life.  
Pippin and Merry meet, grow up and learn what life is really about.  
  
A new arrival and a new friend. ~Where Merry meets his newborn cousin for the first time and gives him a name.  
  
When Merry was eight, his mother and Father took him to see his Aunt and Uncle in The Great Smials. Merry couldn't, however, understand whatever they were going for. It wasn't Christmas-for it was only autumn and Christmas was a few months away yet, and his oldest Took cousin Pearl had had her Birthday two months ago.  
  
"Da, why are we going all the way to the Smials?" Merry asked for the fifth time that morning. And, for the fifth time that morning, he did not get a satisfactory reply.  
  
He found sometimes that adults liked to keep things secret, but Merry did not like not knowing what may or may not be going on. If indeed, there was something going on, he would most certainly like to be a part of it.  
  
They arrived by late afternoon and Merry couldn't even begin to understand why on Earth the place was so very busy. Usually, when it got to this time of day, things would be dieing down and everyone would be getting ready for afternoon tea. It didn't look much like anyone was getting any tea ready, and Merry certainly hoped that they hadn't forgotten, because he was feeling very hungry. After a good half an hour or so of looking around and finding nothing to eat, Saradoc came to find his son and smiled.  
  
"Merry-lad, come with me-there's a surprise waiting for you." The word surprise alerted Merry's attention more than the sight of an ice-bun would've and he looked up to his father.  
  
"Really? What is it?" He asked.  
  
Saradoc took his hand and led Merry through the halls to a small room just opposite his Aunt's bedroom. Aunt Eglantine was sat in a rocking chair, holding something. Merry peeked nervously round the door, and she smiled gently at his little face staring at her.  
  
"Come here," she whispered.  
  
Merry took a nervous step into the room. He noticed that there was a cot in this room; a brown teddy bear on the chair beside the cot and some soft white linen was in the cot. The room was very tidy-much unlike his own room at home, and it was also very quiet compared to the noise he'd heard when entering the Smials.  
  
"Why are you holding a blanket-have you cold hands?" Merry asked.  
  
Eglantine smiled and Merry looked back to his Mother, Father and Uncle standing just in the doorway.  
  
"Look," she said, leaning forward slightly.  
  
Merry tiptoed up and looked into the blanket. He found himself getting a small surprise and he gave a short gasp as he saw two bright green eyes, a sharp little nose and rosebud lips look right up at him.  
  
"A baby!" Merry whispered with fascination and enchantment. "A real baby!"  
  
Merry looked back to his mother again, though this time he smiled proudly and was not at all frightened or anxious.  
  
"Is it a boy?" He asked Eglantine.  
  
The baby let out a little squeak-like cry and she nodded.  
  
"Yes, and we're going to name him Peregrin the first. We did want to shorten his name though, but we don't know what to shorten it to." Merry stared at the baby's little face.  
  
"He's very tiny," Merry whispered as Eglantine gently held the baby out for Merry to hold.  
  
*** Merry gently supported Peregrin's head with his arm and he suddenly smiled.  
  
"I know!" he cried.  
  
Peregrin made a funny 'bwrrr' noise and reached out a tiny hand for Merry's fingers.  
  
"When I was really small, Uncle Paladin used to call me Pip-Squeak. Why don't you shorten it to Pip-no, even better, Pippin. He is very tiny, you see, and that's what tiny Hobbits are: Pip-squeaks."  
  
Eglantine laughed and watched over Merry as the child carefully held his tiny cousin. Paladin came and stood beside her as Saradoc and Esmeralda watched over Merry's shoulder as he kept a firm, but gentle hold over Peregrin.  
  
"Pippin. . .hmm, that's very fitting. Yes, I think that's what we'll shorten his name to, thanks to you, Merry." Paladin replied proudly.  
  
Merry smiled down to his new baby cousin. "Hullo, Pippin. I'm Meriadoc, but you'll always be allowed to call me Merry."  
  
Pippin stared up at Merry for a long time and then suddenly let out a little giggle. Merry smiled back, lent in close to Pippin and they rubbed noses.  
  
"Welcome to the Shire, My Pippin. You're going to be the best little cousin in the world." Merry told him.  
  
Merry received another giggle and then a tired smile and then a very tired yawn. Merry wrapped the blanket more cosily around Pippin's tiny body, sat down in the chair near the cot and gently rocked him, until the Took drifted off to sleep in the comfort of his cousin, Merry's arms.  
  
***  
  
Lost and Found. ~Where Pippin plays a game and Merry worries that Pippin is lost forever.  
  
Pippin went to stay with Merry in Buckland when he was just five-years-old. This was to be the first of many visits to see his cousin. It was a very rainy Sunday and Pippin was not very happy. Saradoc greeted his mother and father with a great smile and a warm hug and Pippin greeted Merry with a somewhat unhappy pout.  
  
"Hullo, Pip." Merry said cheerfully.  
  
Pippin did not answer and crossed his arms over his chest and sat down. Merry frowned. Now that he was thirteen, he felt it very important to look after his little cousin.  
  
"What's the matter? Aren't you pleased to be staying here?" He asked. Pippin sighed.  
  
"S'raining." Came the little reply.  
  
Merry looked to the window and saw big wet drops splatter against the glass. Merry smiled and knelt down in front of Pippin.  
  
"That's alright-there's still lots we can do inside. We can read books, play games, help Ma with the cooking."  
  
Pippin did not seem satisfied with the suggestions Merry had made and turned his nose up. Merry stifled a sigh and shifted on his heels a little. He lent inward a bit and then looked to his cousin again.  
  
"Well, what would you like to do?" He asked.  
  
Pippin pouted again and then sighed loudly.  
  
"I wanted to go to the river." He replied softly.  
  
Merry looked to the window again. Big black clouds smudged the grey sky and it did not look as though the weather would be clearing up at all. Knowing just how much Pippin loved Brandywine River; Merry was stuck for a few moments, in thinking how to correct the situation.  
  
"We can go there when the sun comes out. That's the first thing we'll do when it's not raining anymore." Merry promised.  
  
Pippin smiled at Merry and nodded. Merry smiled back and then brought himself up to sit next to his cousin.  
  
"Shall we read a story, or play at slaying dragons and trolls?" Merry asked Pippin.  
  
Pippin bit his lip and shook his head. He looked up to Merry and then smiled again.  
  
"Can we play hide and seek?" He asked.  
  
"Alright," Merry replied, standing up.  
  
Pippin jumped off the chair, obviously searching for somewhere to hide. Merry stepped over to the bookcase and faced the wall.  
  
"I'll start counting-I'll count to ten, and then I'll come and find you. You can hide anywhere but the study-and don't go outside."  
  
Pippin nodded, understanding perfectly and then darted off down the hall as soon as Merry had covered his eyes.  
  
***  
  
Merry had counted to Ten and had searched every single room he could think of-even the study, despite telling Pippin not to go there, and found himself panicking. He'd looked under every bed, behind every door and curtain, in every cupboard and in every drawer, but Pippin was no-where to be found.  
  
"Merry, supper's ready!" Esmeralda called.  
  
Now Merry panicked even more. How could he explain that he'd lost his cousin? His heart beat hard in his chest that it felt like his ribs would explode. His mother called again and he shuffled into the kitchen, his head hanging shamefully.  
  
"Where's Pippin?" Saradoc asked immediately.  
  
Merry looked to his father and his bottom lip began to quiver. Saradoc frowned as his son's eyes began to water and he stood there trembling by the kitchen table. Esmeralda turned round and stopped cooking whatever it was and looked at her son.  
  
"He's lost." Merry replied in a tiny voice.  
  
Merry was sure he was going to get the strap for this-twice if he didn't explain himself, but to his surprise, his father knelt down and wrapped a strong arm round his shoulder.  
  
"Now, I'm sure he's somewhere, Merry. I thought you two were playing Hide and Seek. How long have you been looking for him?" Merry figured up in his head.  
  
"Almost two hours," he replied.  
  
Saradoc smiled and stood up. Merry looked over to his mother and she smiled gently and then went back to cooking the soup.  
  
"Let's go and find this little bag of mischief, shall we? I expect he hid somewhere and got bored of you waiting to find him. I expect he's just gone for a wander." Saradoc reassured his son.  
  
Both Merry and Saradoc had searched for what must've been thirty minutes or more, and they still had not found Pippin. Merry knew that Pippin would not have gone outside-he never went against what Merry told him, and Saradoc knew this also. It was when they were just about to give up and tell Esmeralda, that she called them to the washroom.  
  
"What is it? Have you found Pip-" Merry started.  
  
"Shh." Esmeralda hushed him.  
  
She pointed to the linen basket and sure enough, there, bundled up in all the linen and other washed things, was Pippin. He was fast asleep, though, and had obviously fallen asleep there whilst waiting for Merry to find him. Merry smiled to his cousin sleeping in the clothes and linen.  
  
"Fool of a Took!" He whispered, relived that his little cousin was safe and sound.  
  
***  
  
Tears before bedtime. ~Where Pippin gets into his first fight and learns a few home-truths.  
  
Pippin never could understand why Merry wouldn't play ball with Eweston and Macadon Goodbody. They were the same age, they were almost the same height and build, but they never played together. Pippin was almost twelve and had already mastered Ball as best he could.  
  
"We need two more in our team, merry-why don't we ask Eweston and Macadon? I bet with them on our team, we'd win straight away." Pippin suggested.  
  
Merry shook his head and walked onwards. Pippin hurried to catch up with him.  
  
"Why not?" Pippin asked.  
  
Merry did not answer and continued walking up the hill and Pippin ran after him. Merry did not slow down for Pippin, which Pippin found all rather frustrating.  
  
"Merry! Why not?" Pippin shouted.  
  
Merry finally stopped and faced his cousin.  
  
"Because he's a bully. He's not a very nice Hobbit-I don't like him and I suggest you stay away from him, because he's not a very good sort." Merry replied.  
  
After that morning, Pippin did stay away from Eweston that was until Eweston and Macadon's younger brother; Hamston said something that Pippin did not agree with. Hamston was thirteen but Pippin was by no means afraid of the Goodbody. Pippin had been sat under his favourite tree reading his book, when Hamston and some other Hobbits came into view. Pippin immediately climbed the tree so he was out of sight, but could still hear them.  
  
"I heard that Meriadoc is good friends with Frodo Baggins. That would explain a lot. You know what they say about old Bilbo Baggins, don't you? Mad-the lot of them are mad. I thought Merry-being a Brandybuck and all- would turn out differently, but he's just a stupid as the rest of them."  
  
Pippin did not like Hamston at all. Not only had he just offended his first and second cousin, he had also mentioned Merry. Speaking ill of Merry was like not having second breakfast and that, in Pippin's mind, was not a very good thing at all. Within seconds, Pippin had dropped from the tree and was stood in the middle of the group.  
  
"I won't have you speaking of Merry like that." He said very firmly.  
  
Hamston laughed out loud and the two fellow Hobbits laughed also. "Really? And what are you going to do about it, Pip-Squeak? Run home to your Mama?"  
  
Pippin gritted his teeth and folded his arms over his chest. One of the other two Hobbits nudged Hamston and the other one grabbed Pippin's arms behind his back and held him fast.  
  
"No, we want to know, what are you going to do? You're not match for us, you tiny little Nancy-boy. You're the runt of the litter-you always have been and you always will be."  
  
Hamston finished his cruel words, by spitting on the Took and grinning menacingly. Pippin struggled to free from the Hobbit's hold, but he wasn't strong enough.  
  
"I want this fight to be between you and me, Hamston. That's all-just you and me!" Pippin shouted.  
  
Hamston raised his eyebrow and nodded for the other Hobbit to let go.  
  
"Oh, so it's a fight you want? Alright, just you and me, but you do realise that you're going to regret this." Hamston threatened.  
  
Pippin tensed himself up and readied himself to fight. He'd never had a fight before and would've been lying if he said he wasn't at all worried. Hamston was a big lad-bigger than most thirteen-year-olds and he did not take kindly to challenges made by younger and smaller -and in his eyes, less important- Hobbits.  
  
"Brace yourself, Took, this is going to hurt." Hamston said, smiling smugly at Pippin, while the other two laughed.  
  
Pippin flew backward and hit the ground hard as Hamston threw a heavy punch to Pippin's face. He felt the warm trickle of blood run for his nose and he stood up as quickly as he could.  
  
"Is that all you've got to offer?" Pippin shouted, trying to hide the pain of his swelling jaw.  
  
Hamston laughed viciously at Pippin, but was surprised when the Took leapt at him and wrestled him to the ground. The scuffle lasted for only a few moments, as Pippin's strength was no match for Hamston and he found himself flying though the air as Hamston threw him off with one quick and powerful pitch.  
  
This time, Pippin landed and hit his head. He felt a throbbing go right through his whole body, and this time he struggled to pull himself up. The wind had been completely knocked out of him.  
  
"Come on, Took-you can do better than this!" Hamston shouted.  
  
Pippin gasped for breath, felt another blow to his face, a kick, another punch and then a vice-like grip on the back of his next. He strained to look up and saw Eweston Goodbody smiling down at him.  
  
"Thought you could take on my brother, did you?" He questioned.  
  
Pippin tried to splutter some sort of reply, but Eweston was not at all patient and did not give Pippin chance to answer. The grip eased after two or three repetitive lifts and Pippin's head had hit the ground more times than he wished to count, but he could clearly make out Merry's voice. He struggled to pull himself up, but his body was feeling all too rather fragile to actually do it, so he just collapsed in a heap on the ground.  
  
*** Pippin groggily awoke, in Merry's bed. He was confused, at first, wondering why he was in Buckland and wondering why on earth his body ached so much. He then remembered and sighed in agony at how stupid he'd been.  
  
"Hope you're proud of yourself," Merry uttered.  
  
Pippin looked over and saw his cousin sitting in the chair opposite, looking to him with narrowed eyes. Pippin brought out his tongue and licked his lips.  
  
"No, I'm not really." He replied softly.  
  
There was a long, tense moment before Merry moved from the chair to the bed and sat down beside Pippin. He gave a frustrated sigh and shook his head.  
  
"What were you thinking? I warned you about them-I told you. Why did you get yourself into so much trouble-what possessed you to do such a thing?" Merry asked angrily.  
  
For the moment, Pippin was all too much in a spin to understand all those questions being asked, but he finally sighed and tried to make sense of the situation.  
  
"When Hobbits say nasty things about the people I love, I usually react to it. I do not just stand and watch them speak ill, because that way, they'll just do it again and again. They have to know what's right and what's not and sometimes, it's the only way to get through to them. If talking doesn't work, then I don't see any other way of getting the message across."  
  
Merry had not realised the reasons for Pippin's behaviour, but now, hearing the Took explain why he did what he did, Merry could understand what had caused the reaction.  
  
"Alright, I see. Pippin, this is going to sound rather hurtful, but you're no match for them. Did you honestly believe you could win?" Merry asked.  
  
Pippin pouted a little, wavered for a moment before answering and then, defeated, finally shook his head.  
  
"No. I suppose not. I just wanted them to know that I didn't like what they said about you and Bilbo." He replied, shakily.  
  
Merry shook his head again and sighed out loud. He lent towards Pippin and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.  
  
"Come on, Pip, its alright. I think you probably just scared yourself more than anything. Just promise me something, will you?" Merry asked.  
  
Pippin looked to him and hastily wiped his eyes. He nodded and wiped his eyes again as Merry helped him sit upright.  
  
"Promise me that dealings with the Goodbody's-especially Hamston-are now over, and even if you hear the smallest whisper about me, you will not go full-speed into battle with them?"  
  
Pippin smiled at Merry, reassured and in the knowledge that he wasn't in as much trouble as he first thought.  
  
"I promise, Merry, that I won't. 'Least, not till I'm bigger anyway." Merry frowned at Pippin's reply.  
  
"Alright. No more fights, or dealings or anything with any of the Goodbody's-especially Hamston." Merry smiled and ruffled Pippin's hair.  
  
"Now, you better get some rest. I've absolutely no idea what your father is going to say to you when he comes to pick you up tomorrow, but all I know is you deserve whatever punishment you get Master Took."  
  
Pippin nodded, knowing full well that he would get a rather strict telling off-and probably the strap when he had recovered-but he had also learned his lesson. He never wanted Merry to be angry with him, and he promised himself that he would do his best not to upset Merry as much as he had done today.  
  
"Sleep well, Pip." Merry said softly at the door.  
  
Pippin nodded, rolled painfully onto his side and drifted off to sleep in hopes that his body wouldn't ache half as much tomorrow.  
  
***  
  
A promise of Lifelong Friends  
  
~Where Merry is troubled and Pippin struggles to comfort him.  
  
When Merry was twenty-seven, he underwent a change in his all-too familiar life. He had his daily routine, one he'd been following for years, but that all changed when his Mother got sick. His Father would spend endless days and nights worrying and hoping, and would not let his son go anywhere near her room. Merry was finding it increasingly difficult to get by in the day, with lack of knowledge in how his mother was feeling was making him feel extremely run-down.  
  
"Just stay out of the way, Merry-that's all you can do." Saradoc shouted.  
  
Merry backed off, hot tears ran down his cheeks and he fled away from Buckland and to the Smials in hope of seeing Pippin.  
  
"And all I wanted to do was see how she was. She is my Mother, after all. She's only the one who gave me life," Merry finished, after telling Pippin the whole story.  
  
Pippin did not know what to say or do. In all his years, he had never seen his cousin in such a state and it frightened him.  
  
"Well, did you tell Saradoc that you had right to see your own Mother?" Pippin asked after a little while.  
  
Merry shook his head and sniffled a little. Pippin saw the tears falling and hastily reached for a handkerchief. Merry took it and wiped his eyes. He looked to Pippin as if expecting a form of comfort and reassurance, but Pippin did not provide what Merry was in need of.  
  
"What can I do?" Merry asked, hoping a prompt would snap Pippin's mind into saying something supportive.  
  
"You could go and talk to Saradoc," Pippin suggested.  
  
Merry felt his whole body crumble-even his very best friend could not comfort him, and that hurt more than anything his Father may've said in the last week or so.  
  
"Pippin, I need your comfort-I need you to tell me things will be alright. Why won't you say anything? Why are you just suggesting my Father all the time? I need help, Pip." Merry stated.  
  
Pippin frowned and gave a little sigh. He looked to Merry quickly and looked almost ashamed.  
  
"I can't." He replied very softly.  
  
Merry frowned as Pippin stood up and went to the door. He turned just before he left and gave Merry a rather heart-rending look.  
  
"Sorry." He whispered.  
  
Merry felt the tears well up and did not even consider stopping them. He rolled over onto his side and curled up in a ball and cried into Pippin's pillow. He clutched onto the handkerchief that Pippin had provided him with and wept wholeheartedly. How could Pippin just leave? Merry needed him more than anything now, and all he could do was say sorry and leave. Merry had been there for Pippin plenty of times in the past, the least Pip could do was be there for him, too.  
  
***  
  
"Morning." Merry said glumly the next morning.  
  
Eglantine smiled softly and handed him a bowl of warmed oats. Merry spooned miserably at the food and did not raise it to his mouth. Eglantine sighed and sat down opposite him. She didn't say anything a first, and Merry couldn't think of anything to say to her, so they just sat in silence for what seemed to be hours.  
  
"Don't you think you're Father will be worried about you?" She asked softly.  
  
Merry shook his head and still spooned at the oats.  
  
"No. All he's worried about is Ma. That's all he's concerned about lately." Merry replied.  
  
Eglantine watched as Merry looked into his bowl and played about with the oats.  
  
"Looking in there won't help your problem, Merry." She answered softy.  
  
Merry looked up to her and pushed the bowl away. She was right, of course, Porridge oats would not help his problem, but at that moment in time he would happily accept answers from anything. He was at a complete loss of what to do.  
  
"I asked Pippin what he thought I should do-he didn't have any answers. I thought that maybe he'd be able to help me-and I would be lying if I said his reactions didn't upset me." Merry told her.  
  
Eglantine knew full well how much Merry had helped Pippin in the past and was slightly surprised at the fact that her Son had not jumped at the chance in order to help as best he could as he normally would. She pondered on it for a few moments, but then realised Merry was facing a horrible time in his life. The last thing he needed was an absent friend.  
  
"I'll speak with Saradoc. You can stay here for as long as you like and I'll do my best to find out how your Mother is doing. As for Pippin, I don't quite understand why he didn't help you, but I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason. He's in the fields if you want to see him, but Merry, don't hate him. He promised to be there for you-like you for him, but he never promised to take all your troubles away. There are some things, that even my seemingly spontaneous son can't handle, and this may well be one of them."  
  
Her words had not been spoken with harshness or in an abrupt tone, but had in fact comforted Merry somewhat. She was right in that Pippin could not handle certain things. He was still very young, and Merry sometimes forget that. The last thing Pippin wanted to think about was a dieing relative.  
  
Merry found Pippin in the cornfield. He was greeted with a warm smile from his cousin and he made sure to smile back. Pippin did not, a first, say anything, but then turned to Merry slowly.  
  
"I found some more Harvest mice. I don't think they'll ruin the crops this year, but I'd better keep an eye on them." Merry nodded in agreement.  
  
A few more moments passed in silence, until Pippin let out a jaded sigh. He turned full to face Merry and shook his head slightly. Merry frowned but waited patently for his cousin to speak and say what he had to.  
  
"I want to help you, Merry, believe me when I say I do-but it's just, well, it's difficult to know what to say in these sort of situations." Pippin began walking slowly and Merry followed.  
  
"Pippin, I know you'd do whatever you could to help me-I'm just not thinking straight. Sorry if I came across as a bit harsh, I just felt lost and I needed you to comfort me. When you didn't I felt that no-one cared at all."  
  
***  
  
They walked as far as the gate, climbed it and then sat down on the other side, in amongst the grasses. Merry lent back on his elbows and stretched out his legs before him. Pippin remained cross-legged and picked absent- mindedly at the grass.  
  
"I care. And it's all I've been thinking about all day." Pippin finally said, softly.  
  
Merry looked to Pippin and then back to the blue sky above them. The sun beat gently down on his face and warmed his cheeks. There was a very slight breeze, which made the treetops whisper and the leaves rustle. Birds flew off across the sky and few could be heard singing off in the distance.  
  
"Thing is, with your mother being so sick-it just reminded me of when Granddad got ill. He was so independent-even at the end, and he'd always get up before sunrise, go to the fields and work until lunch." Pippin said softly.  
  
Merry knew that Pippin and his Grandfather had always been close. On the long weeks of summer, Pippin and his Grandfather would often go off on little adventures to see what the new day would bring. Pippin would always come home with some crafted toy or another that his Grandfather had caringly spent days making and crafting. Once it was a wooden horse set, and there had also been a wooden dragon that Pippin had not let out of his sight for so much as a second. The best toy, however, had been the wooden sword he had received on his tenth Birthday. He had loved it so much that he'd even taken it to bed with him so he could protect it through the night.  
  
"I remember. And now I feel even more lost. It's like a part of me is going and won't ever come back." Merry said.  
  
Pippin looked to his cousin suddenly and knelt forwards. He cleared his throat, arched his back slightly and then looked Merry straight in the eyes.  
  
"Go home. Tell your father that you have just as much right to see your mother. She gave you life, she brought you into this world and the least you can do is say goodbye before she goes from this world to the next. My Da is going to see her, too, so that way, Saradoc will have no excuses not to let you see your own mother."  
  
It wasn't exactly comfort, but it was Truth and Merry nodded and brought himself up. Pippin stood up and brushed himself down, pulled Merry up beside him and placed a comforting arm around his cousin's shoulder. Merry felt a little better: more so than he'd been feeling over the last few days and smiled slightly.  
  
"Pip, listen, I'm sorry I wanted you to comfort me. I didn't realise it would affect you in the way it did. I didn't even stop to think that you might get upset over this-she is your aunt, after all. Thank you for letting me stay here, though. Thank you for putting a few things into perspective for me."  
  
Pippin smiled to his friend. "Should I come back with you?" He asked.  
  
Merry bit his lip for a moment and turned to face Pippin. Despite the years they'd spent together, despite endless summers and cold winters, Pippin would never cease to amaze Merry. The age-gap was not often apparent between them, and Merry would find himself speaking to Pippin as if the Took were his age or older. Pippin never questioned what Merry had to say, but that didn't mean he would fully understand. In that moment-that small question that Pippin had asked, the age-gap between then had arisen and Merry saw his young, child-like cousin return. Pippin was only nineteen, and yet, it seemed that the lad had had to grow up much too fast, and much too prompt. It saddened Merry somewhat to think of his cousin's lost childhood and he thought fondly of days gone by.  
  
"Merry?" Pippin's voice brought him back and he looked to his cousin's expectant face. "Do you want me to come back with you?" Pippin repeated.  
  
Merry smiled and ruffled Pippin's hair. He loved this lad. He was always so considerate, so careful and caring with his words. Merry shook his head.  
  
"No, Pip, you don't have to. I think that after today, things will be just fine. You've got plenty enough to be doing here if Paladin is leaving for a few days. Tell you what, after this is over, we'll arrange a proper visit, eh?"  
  
Pippin's eyes lit up and he nodded happily: in a way of which a child does when they are given treats.  
  
"Yes, Merry-and we'll go on adventures and things, we could even go and see Frodo and stay at Bag End for a while." Merry laughed.  
  
"Course we can. And the best thing about it is that it'll be our adventure, Pippin. Just yours and mine. No one else's." Pippin smiled and nodded happily.  
  
"Just one more thing, though, Merry." Pippin began.  
  
Merry stopped and rested back against a tall rowan tree. Pippin seemed to tense up a little before he spoke, but eased himself and looked to Merry. He swallowed, cleared his throat and then softly concluded:  
  
"No matter what happens between now and our adventure, Merry, I'll be here. Even if it's just to tell me how angry you're feeling or, perhaps, how sad things are making you feel. I don't want you to feel you don't have anywhere to turn. I don't want to feel alone. I may not be able to do much to help, but sometimes, friends as good as us don't need words. Sometimes comfort is just as simple as a smile or an understanding nod. I hope I can help you if you need me."  
  
Merry would have probably cried right there and then if he had not been so stubborn to his emotions. He did not know what to say, aside from thank you, but he lent in and brought Pippin into a tight embrace.  
  
His cousin was right. Sometimes, friends as good as them, did not need words.  
  
END. 


End file.
